Various diseases are known in which the metabolism of iron is not normal. In anemia, not enough blood can be formed due to an overall lack of iron in the body. Another metabolic condition relating to iron disturbance is hemochromatosis, in which the overall concentration of iron in the body is higher than normal. This leads to various deleterious conditions, including the possible destruction of organs.
Disturbances of iron distribution differ from the above described anemia and hemochromatosis because the overall concentration of iron in the body is normal. However, excess iron is accumulated in various organs and can lead to damage and even destruction of these organs. On the other hand, the use of the iron which is present in normal quantities in the formation of blood is impaired, leading to secondary effects which are comparable to those related to anemia.
Until now it was not known that patients suffering from diabetes have a high probability to be affected by disturbances of iron distribution. Disturbances of iron distribution can be diagnosed by various parameters which are commonly used in the diagnosis of the iron status. Based on measurements of ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor it is possible to assess whether the overall concentration of iron in a diabetic patient is normal. If this is the case, then a lowered concentration of Hemoglobin in reticulocytes is an indicator for disturbances of iron distribution. Another indicator is a continuously/prolonged elevated concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients suffering from diabetes and exhibiting a normal overall iron concentration. A method for diagnosing disturbances of iron distribution has been described by P. Lehmann, M. Volkmann, J. Lotz, A. Baldauf, R. Roeddiger, poster presented at the AACC/CSCC, Annual Meeting, Jul. 29-Aug. 2, 2001, Chicago, Ill.